


Family Isn't Always Blood

by psychoroach



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post-Episode: s04e04 9-1-1 What's Your Grievance?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-15 23:53:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29322726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/psychoroach/pseuds/psychoroach
Summary: Reaction fic to 4x04. I had a lot of feels and needed to vomit them all out in fic form.
Relationships: Eddie Diaz/Evan "Buck" Buckley
Comments: 8
Kudos: 185





	Family Isn't Always Blood

Eddie looked up from changing into his sleepwear when there was a quiet, but insistant knock on the door. He knew cut off grey sweat pants and an old Army shirt that was so cut up and old that it could barely be considered a shirt probably wasn't the best to be wearing when there was company, but since it was nine at night and Christopher was asleep, he wasn't looking to impress anyone. Sighing to himself, he jogged downstairs before whoever it was could wake up Christopher. He threw open the door to give the person a (quiet) piece of his mind, and paused when he saw Buck there. He frowned, noticing that Buck's face was puffy, his eyes red and he was folded in on himself, which was nothing like the confident man he knew. 

"Buck?" He blurted out. 

"Hey, Eddie." He said, his voice raw. "I know it's late, but..." 

"No, no, come in." He reached out and pulled him in, shutting the door behind them. "What's wrong?" 

They moved to sit on the couch and it was like as soon as they sat, the dam burst. Eddie's eyes widened as Buck hunched over and he began sobbing, curled up with his hands over his face like he was trying to hold it back, but just couldn't. Eddie's dad instincts kicked in hardcore and he gently pulled Buck over to lay against him, wrapping his arms around him. He couldn't do what he did when Christopher was upset, which was pull him onto his lap, but he managed enough so that he could curl his hand around Buck's head and cradle him close. He didn't try and shush Buck while he cried, just letting him get his crying out, but he had to admit that it was hard to just wait it out. But he wasn't allowed to cry growing up and he'd be damned if someone told Christopher (or Buck!) that they couldn't cry. 

Finally, Buck pulled back and before he could paw at his face, Eddie held out a box of tissues. He was _so_ going to tease Buck about how loudly he blew his nose, but that was later, when his sunshine boy was back with him and not this empty shell he had right now. Buck blew his nose a few times and wiped at his face and once he threw the tissues away, he sat back and looked over at Eddie. "I had dinner with my parents and Maddie tonight. Maddie was going to introduce them to Chim and Albert." He said, his voice quiet and raw from his crying jag. "I knew it was going to be rough, it's my parents, you know? It's always rough with them. They've never been...warm or caring. I've never felt like enough. I can't even tell you how many times they've blamed me for things and told me to 'take responsibility' for something, even though I didn't need to take responsibility. I...I don't understand my parents, you know? We've never seen eye to eye and Maddie basically raised me anyway, so I never worried about it much once I got a certain age. I just...let them be them and figured things out for myself...well with Maddie's help." 

Eddie unconsciously reached over to rub Buck's back to help keep him calm and he smiled to himself as Buck leaned into the touch, glad he could provide comfort to him. 

"I'm adopted." Buck blurted out. 

"What?" Eddie asked, barely refraining from shouting it and waking Christopher up. He gaped at Buck, feeling shocked down to his soul. 

"Yeah I'm not even their son, I'm not Maddie's brother." Buck looked over at him and the hurt on his face broke Eddie's heart and he felt helpless because he didn't know really what to say or do. "She knew, Eds. She...she knew all these years and never told me."

"What?" Eddie felt like he couldn't be more shocked by anything, but his head was spinning right then and he didn't know how to process anything right then. He could only imagine how Buck felt. No wonder he came over and didn't want to be alone right then.

"Yeah, all the years and she just...kept it to herself." Buck said. "I feel so betrayed." 

"I don't blame you, I would, too." Eddie said quietly, moving his hand up to squeeze Buck's shoulder. "Look, you don't have to...decide anything or do anything tonight. Why don't you just come to bed. Tomorrow you can have breakfast with Christopher and we'll figure it out, ok?" 

"I don't want to impose on you..." Buck started. 

Eddie snorted. "I am not them, Buck." He said sternly, making Buck look at him. "I want you in my life, as is, and I think you know from all the late night talks that we've had that there's basically nothing I've kept from you..." 

"Basically nothing?" He asked. 

Eddie shrugged. "I got a weird shaped birthmark on my ass that looks like a scared cat." 

Buck waved a hand. "I knew that, I've seen it in the locker room, and I always thought it was shaped like Guam."

Eddie rolled his eyes. "Let's not get into a discussion about my ass." He pointed at Buck with a warning look when he started to open his mouth. "Six in the morning comes way too early, trust me, and we're going to need to be well rested to deal with a wide awake Christopher. Now come on, if you're good and go to bed now, I'll make pancakes for breakfast." 

"Blueberry ones?" Buck asked as he got up and followed Eddie upstairs. 

He paused in the doorway to the bedroom, trying to think if he had blueberries handy. "Yeah, sure, why not." He said finally. He sat on the bed while Buck stripped down and once they were in bed, Eddie used his remote to turn the lights off and turned toward Buck, who he could barely see in the dark. "You know, I know you're feeling betrayed right now and like you don't have a family...but don't forget, me and Christopher...the 118? We're your family. We always will be." 

"I know." Buck said quietly. 

The next day, Eddie made pancakes for breakfast and managed to get Christopher off to school on time (he had to sprint with him down to the bus, but it still counted damn it!) and then he ushered Buck off to the shower, telling him he was doing a grocery run, and offering to drop him off at Dreamworld Comics while he shopped. Buck looked at him weirdly, but didn't question it and soon enough they were out of the house. 

Eddie pulled up to the restaurant he heard Buck mention that Maddie was meeting their parents at to see them off and he took a few moments to compose himself before he got out and made his way over to where they were gathered by the SUV the parents had driven in on. Maddie looked up and she got a shocked look on her face. "Eddie, what are you doing here? Is Evan..." 

Eddie held up his hand and cut off her words. He looked at the parents and shook his head. "You know, I spent all last night trying to think about what I'd say when I saw you, and the truth is I still don't know. I just don't understand how someone could have someone like Evan in their life and treat him like complete and total shit..." 

"Excuse you? Maddie who is..." The mom started.

"Did I say you could talk?" Eddie asked, calling up the soldier he hadn't been in a while now. "No, I did not. Now shut up and listen. You all are the absolute worst. You know, I've seen a lot of shit in my life, witnessed lowlifes doing unspeakable things to people, but it's different, you know, when you see someone you care for very deeply going through it."

"You don't understand." Maddie said, and Eddie rolled his eyes when he saw her crocodile tears start up. "There was just no good time!"

"Spare me the tears, it's not getting sympathy from me." He said. 

"How dare you talk to a pregnant woman..." The dad started.

"Did I say you could talk?" Eddie cut him off. "No, shut up." He looked back at Maddie. "No good time? No good time? Not once over the last two years did you think it was a good time to tell him his family wasn't his family? That's funny, really. I would think at some point during that whole 730 days there would be some point where you could tell him." 

"You don't know the burden of keeping this secret!" Maddie blurted out. 

Eddie laughed bitterly. "Again trying to garner some sympathy. I told you, it's not going to work. How do you think Buck feels? How do you think it is for him knowing that his family isn't really his family?" 

"I'm still his family." Maddie said quietly. 

"No you're not, you never were." Eddie said. "Where were you when his leg was hurt and he couldn't work? When his world was turned upside down..." 

"Where were you?!" Maddie blurted out, glaring at him. "Oh yeah, blaming him for being hurt!"

"That's not how it was and you know it." Eddie said lowly. "I was hurt, I was hurt because he was suing the 118 and I couldn't...I couldn't be there and try to...help him through things. Trust me, it wasn't any fun for me either, but you didn't have a lawsuit holding you back. You just stayed away because you couldn't turn the drama in your favor." 

"Fuck you, Eddie, I don't have to stand here and listen to this!" Maddie blurted out, glaring openly at him. 

"We don't either. Come on, let's go." The mom said, and she and the dad turned to get in their SUV. Eddie watched them go flatly, waiting until they had left before he turned and went back to his own vehicle. Once he got in, it occurred to him that he needed to go to the grocery store now and get some things to provide an alibi and he cursed loudly, pulling out of the parking lot and heading to Aldi. 

He texted Buck once he pulled up outside the comic shop later on and turned to make sure his milk wasn't getting too warm. He startled a bit when Buck opened the door and Buck looked at him weirdly as he got in, a bag of comic books in his hand. 

"Did you spend all your paycheck?" Eddie asked, grinning at him. 

Buck stuck his tongue out at him, which Eddie shouldn't have found as endearing as he did. "No. I made sure to budget out my rent and other expenses." 

Eddie shook his head as he drove off. "Only you." He said, glad Buck seemed to be feeling better. "Hey you should come to dinner tonight, I told Christopher we could watch My Neighbor Totoro and I know you love Ghibli." 

Buck smiled at him shyly. "Yeah I'd like that." 

"Good." Eddie put his hand on Buck's thigh and as he drove back home he made a promise to himself to keep making Buck smile.

**Author's Note:**

> Read, review, kudos.


End file.
